Archive for June, 2012

FRx is retired. Management Reporter is getting better with each release – and it works!.

FRX is frustrating to use and that is why Synergy clients have previously used the AX in built GL Report Writer .

FRX has many shortcomings in comparisione.g.: deciding which Column Header goes over which Column, or to ‘promote’ and ‘demote’ tree units, or to close the software & reopen because it locked up, or needing to add leading spaces before the descriptions on the Row Format because you can’t indent…

Management reporter does not give us everything we need but it is supported and it has these advantages:

Navigation – move easily between building blocks ,

Intuitive interface Microsoft Toolbars

UNDO Button,

Easy format changes,

Search,

Indent

Stability – no locking up while creating new building blocks

Report Groups – as opposed to ‘chaining’

Report Scheduling

Report comments

Connections e.g. – Sharepoint, and Lync, single sign-on

Performance – processing speed is not even comparable, it can be installed and run on a 64 bit OS, no locking up and there is now a datamart option

See prior blogs for more information. If you have not planned to move to Managment Reporter then you a re missing out on powerful functionality that needs no additional licensing.

For help with report upgrades or to ask about our training programme contact Sharmilli or Bikram on 00971 4 3365589

Cumulative Update 3 for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 on June 28, 2012. This release includes all previously released Cumulative Updates for Dynamics AX 2012 plus additional hotfixes and improvements based on feedback from our customers and partners.

It is recommended to read the release notes prior to installation of Microsoft Dynamics AX2012 Cumulative Update 3 (6.0.1108.670).

Cumulative updates, as well as service packs are now be released intop be slipstreamed. However hotfixes will continue to have their own manual instructions for applying said updates, that will most likely not be able to be apart of this slipstream process.

A hotfix for a specific bug is created. Then after a set amount of hotfixes are generated, a cumulative updates is created. Typically the cumulative updates contain the previous cumulative update hotfixes. This means, that CU3, will actually contain CU1 and CU2 fixes.

From here, after a certain time frame, based on product road map, and market feedback / demand, services packs are released, that bring together all previous cumulative updates, and sometimes also have new feature adds.

Hotfixes -> Cumulative Updates -> Service Packs.

The idea, behind the slipstream process, is to cut down on the amount of setups to run. In the past, if for example to deploy AX 2009, Service Pack 1, CU8l the process was o run the RTM setup, then the SP1 setup and finally the CU8 setups.

With the slipstream process, you deploy the install contents from the ISO file for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 to a network share, add to the Updates folder as described in the above mentioned support post, and there is a single setup that has to be executed.

Another sucessful project completed in a 3 month timeline. This project included implementing two lines of business of National Oilwell Varco (NOV) – Brandt and Tuboscope. This implementation introduced the Project Management Accounting features of Dynamics Ax, together with its fully integrated erp and financial modules within an overall Dynamics Ax global database.

In parallel we have also implemented Dynamics Ax in a new factory for the FGS division of NOV in Oman, which has also gone live. Synergy consultants also previosuly supported NOV implementations in Abu Dhabi and Ghana and co-orinated system design with their parallel implementation in Brazil.

The R8 service update is built on six broad themes: Mobility, Browser Flexibility, Social, Industry Templates, SQL Server 2012, Certifications.

Mobility

Microsoft will be launching a new product, Microsoft Dynamics CRM Mobile, which will enable CRM Online, partner-hosted and on-premise customers with Internet-facing deployments to use CRM on up to three devices per user.

There will be native clients, which means offline support, on all the main mobile platforms: Windows Phone 7.5, iPhone & iPad, Android, BlackBerry. This is an ipad view.

the “new” client is actually a rebranded version of the CWR Mobility client for Dynamics CRM. The UI looks almost identical, apart from a new set of Metro style entity icons. The sharp edges and “authentically digital” appearance look somewhat out of place in the otherwise iOS-style app, but let’s hope that there will be a full Metro app for Dynamics CRM available once the Windows 8 tablets hit the stores.

Dashboards appear to be close to the web UI as far as charts go. If you have other types of web resources on your dashboard (say, a Silverlight component), the results may be a bit less so. Also, I’m assuming entity grids will not be rendered on the iPad Dashboard, at least not in their original format

Browser Flexibility

For years prospective customers have been crying out for multi-browser support and Microsoft has finally delivered! Once R8 hits your CRM server you’ll be able to access CRM using: Internet Explorer 7 or above on Windows 7, Vista and XP; Safari 5.1.1 or above on Mac OS-X or iOS5 ;Firefox 6 or above on Windows 7, Vista and XP or Mac OS-X or iOS5; Chrome 13 or above on Windows 7, Vista and XP.

Activity Feed Enhancements

In the Nov 2011 service update (codenamed “R7″) Microsoft released the new Activity Feeds feature which introduced some social enterprise features into CRM 2011. R8 introduces a series of enhancements to the Activity Feeds feature: like/dislike, enhanced filtering (e.g. @me, types of records I follow, record views), and an updated mobile activity feeds client for Windows Phone 7.5.

Industry Templates

Building on the work of Microsoft partners and its own consulting team, the Dynamics Labs will be releasing several industry templates into the Dynamics Marketplace. The first few templates will be: Wealth Management, Non-Profit, Health Sales Plans and Relationship Management for Health.

The templates will include data model customizations, dashboards, workflows and sample data. They’re designed to help customers in those industries visualise how Dynamics CRM can help their business, and speed up an implementation without necessarily being a fully-packaged vertical industry product.

SQL Server 2012

Microsoft’s own data centers have already been upgraded to SQL Server 2012 and the R8 service update bring official support for partners and customers wanting to upgrade their own deployments to SQL Server 2012. Additionally, there will be some new CRM features that make use of SQL Server 2012 new capabilities. For example: performance improvements, enhanced database recovery, next generation business intelligence (“Crescent”) such as pre-defined Power Pivot models, Power View reports, and time-animated reports.

Certifications

Certifications are critical to enterprise adoption and Microsoft has been working hard over the last year to ensure that its data centers and CRM Online service meets several important certification standards including: ISO27001, SAS 70 Type II, SOX, SSAE 16 SOC1, Safe Harbor, Data Processing Agreement, EU Model Clauses and HIPAA compliance (supported through Business Partner Agreements).

The CRM Anywhere theme is definitely a step in the right direction for Microsoft Dynamics CRM to become an application that truly “works the way you do”. Even though the cross-browser compatibility will enable users to open up the CRM web client on their iPad Safari browser, for any serious work on a tablet you’ll want to have a client that is optimized for:

touch based user interface

streamlined data presentation to support the “working in short bursts” mode of mobile device usage

offline access for those moments when 3G or WiFi just doesn’t reach you

For the subscription price of $30 per user per month (or the perpetual license you can still acquire from CWR Mobility), you can install a fully capable Dynamics CRM mobile client on both your iPad and your iPhone, and still have one user license left for trying out the latest Android phone (whether the non-offline Windows Phone 7 client will consume a license, we don’t know ).

For clarification, this does not affect existing customers of Infor Financials SunSystems 5 who can continue to purchase additional users and modules and related support.

We do not anticipate that this change will cause any undue disruption to as nearly all new customer sales over the past two quarters have been on the most current version of the product, Infor10 Financials Business (SunSystems) 6.1.

The Crescent on the top of the tower was built and installed by Premier Composite Technologies, Dubai, U.A.E., which specializes in composite material constructions in the architectural and marine industries. The company has grown rapidly over the last two years since they implemented Dynamics Ax with support from Synergy Sofware Systems.

Recently to further streamline operations they have implemented a bar code mobility solution with our assistance.

An interesting feature is th magnetic case. The touch cover doubles as a fold-out keyboard that can be used with the tablet. There is also another version of the case called the Type Cover that will be thicker and include a trackpad. The covers also contain an accelerometer so that Surface knows when its rolled back or unfolded.

The pricing is vague, but it is expected thatWindows RT ARM version will cost similar to other ARM tablets while the Windows 8 tablet will be closer to Ultrabook pricing.

Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz was laid to rest at a solemn ceremony in Riyadh on, TuesdayWe commemorate and offer our respects to the grieving family and nation.

His funeral prayers were held at Imam Turki Bin Abdullah Mosque after the afternoon prayers were attended by King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques; Prince Misha’l Bin Abdul Aziz, President of the Allegiance Commission; Prince Naif Bin Abdul Aziz, Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Interior; Prince Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, Emir of Riyadh region; other senior princes and officials. The funeral prayers were led by Sheikh Abdulaziz Bin Abdullah Aal-Al-Sheikh, Grand Mufti of the Kingdom.

Crown Prince Sultan’s body, was swathed in a brown cloth, and was carried through the throng of mourners on a bier to the mosque for funeral prayers before burial. Funeral prayers were also held in mosques across the Kingdom. The Crown Prince died on Saturday and his mortal remains were brought to Riyadh, Monday. King Abdullah was chief mourner at the g mosque, where hundreds of men gathered behind the kneeling figure of the Grand Mufti as he led prayers.

Synergy is a well established, solution provider across the Middle East region.
Synergy has a strong presence in several key verticals; Manufacturing, Construction, Hospitality Insurance, Financial Services, Government. Media, Oil and Gas, Distribution.
Synergy is particularly well known as a Gold Partner of both Infor Sunsystems, and Microsoft Dynamics Ax and for its implementation expertise and exceptional support. It is based centrally in Dubai in the Karama district since it was registered in 1991, and occupies a 7,000 sq ft office with around 80 full time employees.